24: ANGEL OF DEATH
by CollegeAuthor
Summary: 24 Season 9. Jack faces the biggest and most challenging day of his life as he breaks Tony out of prison and discovers that Michelle is alive.
1. Chapter 1

_**I do not own any of the characters of 24. They belong to Kiefer Sutherland and the producers of 24.**_

**Hour One:**

**Sequel to Season 8**

**The following takes place between 4am and 5am. Events occur in real time. **

Jack Bauer shot up, straight out of bed, drenched with a cold sweat. He was having the dreams again. When would he be able to live in peace, and not on the run? Jack wanted to live a normal life with his family, watch his granddaughter grow up, and live a happy life. He hadn't been happy in a long time, and it was all because he tried to save lives. He was being hunted, by many governments, including his own, and he was wanted for "questioning" at the United Nations.

Jack got out of bed and put on the first pair of jeans he could find. There was no point in going back to bed, he couldn't sleep, and if he did, he didn't want to suffer through the dreams he had been having. Jack walked into the hallway and put the light on, it was still dark outside, but the sun would be coming up within the hour. He walked into the kitchen and put his coffee pot on and poured himself a bowl of cereal. As he watched the coffee drip into the pot, he wondered how his life had gotten this way. He used to be happy. He had a family, a house, a car, and a job, every man's dream. Who knew that his job could negatively affect the rest of his life so significantly?

Jack poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down on his couch. He turned the television on to watch the news. He didn't have cable, but he could usually get one or two news stations that he would watch time to time. At the bottom of the television screen, a red alert was being issued.

_Alert: President Allison Taylor goes on trial today for war crimes, treason, and crimes against humanity…. _

Jack didn't know how to feel about this. He used to like and trust Taylor before she got wrapped up in politics. She had once believed in helping the people, being honest, and doing things the legal way. She had even prosecuted her own daughter for murder and treason. Then, just last year, Taylor had put a hit out on Jack, with the help of none other than the notorious Charles Logan. Logan knew all about putting a hit on Jack. Taylor later revoked the hit but still had to answer for her crimes.

Jack laughed softly to himself. How many lives had he affected? There was nothing funny about it, but for a man that had nine lives, Jack seemed to cause a lot of death around him, especially the people he cared about. He had lost his wife, many girlfriends, and almost his daughter to terrorists and criminals, and though it wasn't his fault, he felt responsible.

As Jack watched the news, he heard pots and pans being banged around downstairs. This was one of the many things Jack had to deal with while he lived above a Chinese restaurant. He had planned to get out of the country after the whole Taylor incident, but a nationwide search had been put out for him. Jack was afraid if he tried to cross the border that he would be apprehended or shot, so he decided to wait until things calmed down.

Jack yawned loudly as he watched the sun loom over the many buildings in New York. People would be leaving for work soon, something Jack used to look forward to. Now that Jack owned nothing, not even a car, he could look forward to cleaning pots and pans all day for the man who owned the Chinese restaurant downstairs. It wasn't that Jack didn't appreciate Mr. Tin's generosity, it was just that Jack wished things hadn't gone the way they did.

Jack got up from the couch and went into the bathroom to take a shower. He needed a shave, and the hot water felt good anyways. Jack got dressed and put clean clothes on, getting ready for work downstairs. He locked his door, went downstairs and into the kitchen, only to find Mr. Tin missing. Hadn't he just heard pots and pans being thrown about?

"Mr. Tin?" Jack called out.

Jack heard a loud bang and instinctively crouched to the ground. A man wearing all black had Mr. Tin pinned to the wall, his hand on his throat. There were two other man holding pistols, aiming at Mr. Tin's head.

"I told you, I told you! There is no Jack Bauer here, you have the wrong place!" Mr. Tin said in a heavy Chinese accent.

Jack stayed low to the ground, still crouched behind the counter looking for anything he could find to free Mr. Tin. There were no knives around; they had all been cleaned the night before. Jack could try to run upstairs and grab his gun, but the men would surely hear him and kill Mr. Tin before he got back. Before Jack could do anything, he heard a suppressed shot, and Mr. Tin fell to the floor.

Jack sat there in shock, Mr. Tin was dead, and these men were looking for him. How had they found him? Jack had nowhere to go, and the three men were approaching the kitchen with their weapons drawn. Jack couldn't go back through the door without being seen, and by then it would be too late. Jack desperately looked around, hoping to find something he could use as a weapon. There was a fire extinguisher on the other side of the kitchen, but he wouldn't make it on time. Just as Jack was about to give up hope, he saw a fork on the floor, under the counter. It was his only shot.

Jack sat against the counter, waiting for the three men to enter; it would be any second now. Jack's heart was beating faster than ever, as another life-altering moment lay before him. When the first man's boot entered the kitchen, Jack used all his force to drive the fork right through his boot. The man howled in pain, and was so shocked that he dropped his gun. Jack grabbed the gun and shot the other two men in the chest. As they went down, the first man dived towards Jack with a switch blade; Jack rolled over on the floor, and shot the man right between his eyes.

Jack was now completely drenched in sweat, his heart beating at a dangerous rate from the sudden rush of adrenaline. Jack had no time to think; he searched then men's bodies but came up with nothing except a cell phone. Jack pocketed the cell phone, and ran upstairs to his apartment. Quickly unlocking the door, Jack ran inside and into the bathroom. He grabbed a screwdriver from the drawer, and began to unscrew the air vent. Jack pulled out his brown satchel bag, which held his gun, ammo clips, switch blade, computer chips, first aid kit, and emergency cell phone.

Jack ripped the bag open, grabbed his cell phone and dialed the only person he trusted with his life.

"Chloe, its Jack. It's happened; meet me at the place we discussed." Jack said, as he hung up the phone.

Jack heard police sirens in the distance. He grabbed his bag and went into his bedroom to open the emergency exit. As Jack climbed down the stairs, he saw policemen running into the Chinese restaurant. He looked back, and then looked forward. He disappeared down the alley way. One thing was for certain for Jack Bauer, it was going to be one of those days.


	2. Chapter 2

_**The following takes place between 5am and 6am: **_

Jack Bauer walked at a quickened pace down the alleyway, he was slightly out of breath from the adrenaline drop he had experienced just moments before. Anticipating that the police were right behind him, Jack turned onto 5th avenue and put his sunglasses on. It wasn't that light outside, but Jack didn't want to be easily recognizable. He steadied to a normal pace, not wanting to attract attention to himself.

Not many people were outside at this point of the day. A few cars passed Jack in the road, but that was it. Jack didn't like that he was so exposed outside, but there was nothing he could do, he had to get to the harbor as quickly as possible. Hopefully Chloe would be there by now, and he would be able to get away as soon as possible. Just as Jack was thinking about how the men had found him, his cell phone vibrated in his bag.

"Yeah," Jack said into the phone.

"Jack, I can't get to you! CTU is in lockdown, and your face is all over the news. They've put up roadblocks all over the city, and I can't even leave the building!" Chloe said, gasping for air.

"Calm down, Chloe, calm down. What do you mean you can't leave the building? Why are you there so early?" Jack asked, trying to mask his anxiety.

"I was only supposed to be here until ten o'clock last night, but the security alert was lifted to red, so all analyst and field personnel were required to stay until further notice." Chloe said the anxiety still present in her voice.

"Is Morris there with you?" Jack asked desperately.

"Yes, he can't get out of the building either." Chloe said.

Jack pulled the phone away from his ear and swore under his breath.

"I don't know what to do," Jack said, the desperation clearly in his voice. "I don't know where to go."

"Do you have your PDA?" Chloe asked Jack.

"Yeah." Jack said

"I can send you coordinates to a safe house that Tony, Bill, and I used here in the city." Chloe said, trying to be helpful.

"In New York?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, we had a couple safe houses around the country in case one of us was relocated. There's one in Boston, two in New York, two in D.C., and one in Los Angeles." Chloe said, trying to be helpful.

"The safe house, you're sure it's secure, right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, no one knows about it except for Bill, me, and Tony, and Bill is dead, Tony's in prison." Chloe said.

"Alright, what are the coordinates?" Jack asked.

"Sending them to you now." Chloe said.

"Thank you, Chloe, thank you." Jack said, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Jack, be careful of the road blocks, they're stationed every two miles. According to my coordinates of where you are, you should be passing two." Chloe said.

"Alright, thanks." Jack said. "And Chloe, why was the alert raised to red?" Jack asked.

"I'm not sure, no one has told us anything yet. They have me decrypting embedded files, but it isn't clear what the threat is." Chloe said, confused.

Jack furrowed his eyebrows. This didn't make sense. If they called for everyone to stay at CTU the night, they surely would have told everyone what they were facing. Jack pondered for a moment and considered the possibilities.

"Chloe, when was the alert put out for me?" Jack asked.

"4:04am." Chloe said.

"Son of a bitch, Chloe, I'm being set up." Jack said, walking at a quickened pace once again.

"I don't know." Jack said. "Dammit, I don't know."

"Jack, I'll try to update you on the situation, but don't call me unless absolutely necessary. I think they're watching me." Chloe said.

"Who's in charge?" Jack asked.

"Alberta Green." Chloe said.

"Dammit, Chloe whatever you do, don't trust her, and watch your back." Jack said.

"I know, Jack. I'll try to call you once I have more information. Get to the safe house quickly." Chloe said.

Jack closed his phone, and pulled out his PDA. According to the coordinates, he would be going to an abandoned movie theatre about three miles west of where he currently was. Jack looked ahead, and saw no police cars coming, so he proceeded down the street. He saw his first road block ahead.

How was he going to get past the road block? Jack's heart began to race as he quickly rummaged through his head for an idea. Jack looked up and saw a helicopter approaching from the distance. Shit. There was no way out of this, there was no way he would make it to the safe house with daylight approaching. Jack ducked into another side alley and walked about thirty feet forward before a noise startled him. Jack drew his weapon, turning around quickly as he did, and pointed his gun in the face of someone wearing a hoodie.

"Take your hood off!" Jack yelled.

The person did nothing.

"NOW!" Jack yelled, lightly holding the trigger.

The person wearing the hoodie grabbed the top of the sweatshirt and pulled it down, so that she was face to face with Jack. Jack thought he was seeing things, it couldn't be, the person standing in front of him was dead. Jack lowered his weapon, in total shock and at a loss for words.

"Come on, Jack, follow me." She said.

The woman wearing the hoodie was Michelle Dessler.


	3. Chapter 3

_**The following takes place between 6am and 7am **_

Jack blinked several times to make sure he wasn't seeing thing. Michelle Dessler, a woman he believed to be dead for many years, was standing right in front of him. From what he could tell, she looked pretty much the same, but was he seeing things?

"Jack, could you please put your gun down, and follow me? We don't have much time." Michelle said, looking around anxiously.

Jack slowly lowered his weapon and followed Michelle. She knelt to the ground next to a stained concrete wall and opened a murky window that Jack wouldn't have noticed otherwise. She slid into the opening, and motioned for Jack to do so as well. He found himself in a dark room filled with dusty wooden boxes.

"Could you get the window, Jack?" Michelle asked.

Jack pulled the window down and locked it, turning slowly to see Michelle still standing there.

"You were alive, all this time?" Jack asked, perplexed.

"Yeah." Michelle said, guiltily looking down.

"But, Tony, he, he-…" Jack began.

"Tony knows I'm alive. He has for some time now."

"I don't understand, Tony-…" Jack began.

"The day President Palmer died…the day of the car bomb…I walked out to my car. The explosion nearly killed me. I was in a coma for nearly three months."

"Everyone thought you were dead. Everyone thinks you're dead."

Michelle sighed and looked down. "I know."

"How?" Jack asked, it was the only thing he could say.

"Alan Wilson's men took me. They had me for almost seven months." Michelle said, tears forming in her eyes.

"That's why Tony was meeting him…"Jack said, amazed.

"Yes. Wilson didn't know that Tony knew he had me. Wilson thought Tony had truly turned…was truly one of them."

"I have news for you, Michelle." Jack said, sounding harsher than he meant to. "Tony killed innocent people."

"You mean Larry Moss?" Michelle asked.

"How do you know about-…"

"He's the one that hid me. He wasn't innocent. He definitely wasn't…innocent." Michelle said, turning away, trying to conceal that she was crying.

"He tried to kill me." Jack said.

"No, he didn't."

"I was there, Michelle."

"Jack, you have to trust me on this. Wilson took me to an abandoned military compound. I escaped after seven months, I thought Tony was dead. These people were responsible for killing my son, and now my husband. I got out of the country for a while. Bill and Karen helped me. I later found out Tony was alive from Bill, but I asked that he not tell him I was alive. I didn't want to risk his life. Tony thought Alan Wilson killed me, he wanted revenge." Michelle said.

"How does he know you're alive?" Jack asked.

"Karen Hayes told him." Michelle said.

"This doesn't make any sense." Jack said in disbelief.

"He found out Wilson had me from one of Henderson's men. He was never told I got away. Bill didn't know what Tony was up to, and when Karen found out Bill had died and Tony was arrested, she used her clearance to go and see him."

"I'm glad you're alive, I am. But I'm having a hard time putting some of these pieces together. Tony did try to kill me, and he thought you were dead. Even if Karen Hayes went to see him, what does any of this have to do with you showing up when I'm being hunted today?" Jack asked.

"Jack, don't you see? We're being hunted. Not just me, Tony's life, and your life are in danger. Alan Wilson was giving a presidential pardon. He's after all three of us. It wouldn't surprise me if he was after Chloe as well." Michelle said.

"What? A pardon? I don't understand."

"He was pardoned for information. He gave the Brown administration information on a potential terrorist attack. He left out the fact that he was planning it." Michelle said.

"Attack? What attack? When?" Jack asked, his anxiety raising.

"I don't know the specifics, but…as far as I know; bombs have been planted deep within the subway stations. They're nuclear. They want to sink this city into ruins. With that, the state will think New York City suffered some kind of freak earthquake. The state will later find out that it was a terror attack; Wilson wants to frame the Chinese and start a war. With a war, his private contracting company will take over the stock markets after they crash. He wants to frame you, as well, Jack."

"Wouldn't it set off red flags if Wilson's company was to benefit from this?" Jack asked.

"Jack, the government doesn't know he runs the company. By the time they do, it will be too late."

"How does this affect us though? Why is he hunting us down, all of a sudden?"

"Because he knows I'm still alive, Jack. He knows that I probably know about this, he wants to get rid of me because I'm a liability. He knows you will try to stop him; he wants to frame you for this as well as the Chinese. He knows you'll reach out to Chloe, and he knows that if he uses Tony, I'll go along with what he says." Michelle explained impatiently.

"He can't get to Tony. He's in prison." Jack said.

"Jack, you and I both know that he has money and unlimited resources. He can get to Tony if he knows where he is." Michelle said, desperation rising in her voice.

Jack nodded. "What are we going to do?"

"Comon." Michelle said, as she walked past the dusty, wooden crates. She led Jack into a corridor with concrete walls and an aluminum door at the end. For such a dingy place, the door had a keyboard. Michelle entered in the code, and while she did, Jack noticed many scars on her hands.

Michelle led Jack into a room with computers and equipment set up. It looked like mini-CTU. Michelle shut the door behind Jack and locked it.

"Have you been living here?" Jack asked.

"No," Michelle smirked. "We just use this place for a safe house/ control room."

"We?" Jack asked.

"We," said a voice behind Jack.

Jack turned around and saw Karen Hayes and Aaron Pierce standing behind him.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack said in disbelief.

"Nice to see you too, Jack." Karen said, handing him a bottle of water. "We were hoping you'd make it in one piece."

"How did you even know I'd come this way?"

"We made sure of it by calling the threat in to CTU NY." Aaron said. "That's why there are so many roadblocks."

"That little stunt nearly got me killed," Jack said in disbelief.

"That wasn't us," Aaron said. "When we heard that Wilson's men were coming after you, we called CTU hoping that you would get out of there before they came looking for you. We figured you'd see it on the news and leave right away, leading you here."

"And what about if I didn't see it on the news, by the way? Which I may add, I didn't. I saw it in my boss' kitchen, whom is now dead. Why not come see me if you knew where I was?" Jack asked.

"Jack, those men were watching you. If we had gone in there, they would have seen us and called for backup. We all wouldn't have made it out of there alive. You killed them, I assume." Michelle said.

"Yeah," Jack nodded. " I got one's cell phone, too. I dumped it, but here's the SD card. I don't know what you'll get off of it."

Jack handed Michelle the SD card, and sat down on a couch next to a large computer hard drive. He put his head in his hands and looked at the floor.

"They'll go after my family." Jack said, looking up at Aaron.

"We got to Kim and her daughter before they did, Jack." Michelle said.

"And Stephen?" Jack asked.

Michelle exchanged looks with Karen.

"What happened to him?" Jack asked, feeling anger and hurt for his daughter.

"The police report said he was drinking and driving. That's when we got Kim and Teri out." Michelle said.

"He was Mormon." Jack said.

"I'm sorry?" Karen asked.

"His religion. He was raised a Mormon, he never touched alcohol a day in his life."

"I'm sorry, Jack." Michelle said, touching Jack's shoulder. "Kim's safe. They didn't get to her."

"Where is she?" Jack asked.

"Safe. We'll bring you to her after this is over, Jack." Michelle said. If anyone else besides Michelle or Chloe had told him that, the answer would definitely not be good enough. Throughout his life, Jack had only been able to trust a handful of people in his life, and most of them were dead.

Michelle put the SD card into a PDA and started downloading it. When it was done downloading, she broke the card in two and flushed it down a toilet in a room next to the computers. Jack sat on the couch, amazed at how two hours could change his life completely. It had happened before and it was happening again. He didn't mean to sound so insensitive, but he was frustrated and emotionally exhausted.

Just as Jack found himself drifting off to sleep, he heard a faint sound of footsteps that sounded as though it was coming from behind the door. The rest of them heard the footsteps too, for they motioned for Jack to get up. Michelle moved the couch to show a "trapped door" underneath. She went over to the computer and pressed something on the bottom of the table. She drew her weapon, as did the others, and they went down the door. A few moments later, Jack heard the door blow open.

It wouldn't be long until whoever was above them would realize the trap door, and Jack wondered what they were waiting for. He motioned to Michelle that they should get out, but Michelle shook her head. Jack realized while Michelle was waiting. A few seconds later, he heard a deafening "boom". Dust from the ceiling came pouring down on them.

"Let's go." Aaron said, holding his weapon as he walked down the corridor.

There was a door at the end up the corridor in which Aaron opened and went through first. They were at the end of another alleyway, and Jack noticed men with guns running into the building from which they had just exited. Jack looked forward and saw a white van with the words "Barney's Pet Supplies" in big black print. Aaron opened the door, while everyone got in.

Jack looked out the tinted window to see black vans and men with guns surrounding the building he had just come out of. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he figured things were going to get a lot crazier today.

_**Please review and let me know what you think so far. I will post new chapters soon if I get feedback.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**The Following Takes Place Between 7am and 8am **_

Jack looked out the back window of the van. Men dressed in all black with guns were raiding the building they had just been in. It wouldn't be long until they figured out where Jack and the others were headed in the van.

"How are we going to get past the roadblocks?" Jack asked.

"Jack, give me a little credit here. They're not going to search a secret service agent." Aaron replied.

"Okay."

"When we get past the first roadblock, turn right and we'll pick up the backup car there." Michelle said, scrolling through a CTU issued PDA.

Jack looked at Michelle. "Why didn't you ever contact me?"

Michelle looked at Jack, and then looked away quickly. "I couldn't risk it. I didn't even know where to begin, not to mention I couldn't put Tony's life in jeopardy."

"I didn't even know Tony was alive until about two years ago." Jack said. "And let me tell you, when I did finally find out, it turned out that Tony wasn't the person I use to know."

"Tony's changed. We all have. But it doesn't mean that he's a murderer. He did what he had to do."

"By killing Larry Moss? By trying to kill me?" Jack asked, perplexed.

"I told you, Larry Moss-.." Michelle began.

"Larry Moss may have played by the rules, but nothing indicates that he-…" Jack said, raising his voice.

"Larry Moss kept Michelle in locked quarters of a military compound for four months after she came out of a coma. He did things to her that you don't know about, Jack." Karen said.

Michelle turned her head as her eyes swelled. Jack understood as he read between the lines.

"Michelle, I'm sorry. I didn't know, I'm…I'm sorry." Jack said, touching her shoulder.

"It's okay, Jack. It's history," Michelle said, looking away. "Tony knew that Moss was involved…I don't know if he knew...what he did. But he knew Moss was involved."

Jack nodded his head and looked down. Aaron slammed on the brakes as a man in a suit held a badge in front of the van.

"FBI, stop the car!" The man yelled from the street.

Michelle and Karen exchanged nervous glances.

"Stay down." Aaron instructed.

"Put your hands on the steering wheel, and show me your driver's license and registration." The agent instructed.

Aaron pulled out his secret service id and badge. "Aaron Pierce, Secret Service."

"License and registration." The agent said.

Aaron sighed and pulled out the material for the agent. "Is this really necessary? I'm going to be late for work, and my boss takes that very seriously."

"If you're going to work, then why are you wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, and driving a pet supplies van?" The agent asked.

"Sir, this has to do with national security. I'm not authorized to give that information." Aaron responded, coolly.

"Uh huh. Sir would you unlock the back of the van for me please?"

Aaron stayed cool. "Listen, Son, I am a senior secret service agent. I'm sure you don't want to intrude on my duty to protect the President of the United States. I am not in uniform because I am part of the escort that is protecting the president. I am not supposed to be in uniform because I am not supposed to be recognizable."

"Even if that's true, why can't you open the back of the van?" the agent asked, mocking Aaron.

"What I have in this van pertains to national security. I'm afraid you're not authorized to know."

Jack looked at Michelle and Karen. They looked like they were trying not to panic.

"Aaron, we may need to drive through this roadblock." Jack whispered.

The FBI agent walked to the back of the van. "Sir, I'm going to give you one last chance. Open the back of the van!"

Aaron looked back at Jack.

"Open the van, Aaron." Michelle said.

Jack looked at Michelle with confusion.

"If we drive through the roadblock, our cover is blown. The other agents are far enough away that they won't notice us if we take him with us." Michelle said.

"Do it." Jack said.

"Agent Pierce, I'm not going to-…." The agent began.

Aaron unlocked the back of the van with his automatic car keys. The agent drew his gun and swung the door open. He was greeted by guns in the face by Michelle, Karen, and Jack. The agent looked around nervously and at the other agents conducting other car searches.

"Drop it." Michelle said quietly.

The agent dropped his gun and put his hands in the air

"Get in." Jack said.

The agent kept his hands up and walked into the van. Karen pulled the doors shut, as Aaron cruised through the roadblock.

"Jack Bauer," The agent said. "You have every agency looking for you in Manhattan."

"Shut up." Jack said duct-taping the agent's hands behind his back.

The agent looked around the van, somewhat amused. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Michelle Dessler. Funny isn't it? They put a BOLO out for you this morning as well. I found it a little interesting that they'd put a BOLO out on a dead person."

Michelle looked confused.

"That's right." The agent smiled. "CTU LA had your body exhumed after an anonymous tip came in. Funny, the body wasn't yours. Isn't it a coincidence that the very same day our top priority is finding Bauer, we find you as well?"

Jack pulled a tazor out of his bag and held it to the agent's neck. The agent shook violently, then fell unconscious.

"They had my grave exhumed?" Michelle asked as more of a statement.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack said to himself.

Aaron continued to drive for about three miles, then turned into a side alley. A black Nissan Extera was placed in the middle of the alley. Everyone got out of the van and made their way to the car. Jack pulled the agent by his ankles. Aaron unlocked the car and pulled the trunk open. Jack stuffed the agent into the back of the van, not caring to put him down gently.

"Where are we going? We need to find somewhere close to lay low." Jack said.

"He's right; we won't make it to the theater." Karen said.

"What about the sticks?" Michelle suggested.

Aaron nodded and summoned everyone to get into the car. "We can't stand around much longer. It won't be long before they start looking for him." Aaron said, pointing to the agent in the trunk.

Jack stepped into the back of the car with the agent. As Aaron drove off, Jack opened an ammonia capsule under the agent's nose. The agent stirred, obviously annoyed.

"What do you want, Bauer?"

"Who called the tip in about Michelle Dessler's grave?"

The agent laughed. "Jack, you know I can't disperse that infor-…"

Jack grabbed the agent's binded wrists, and pulled his thumb on his right hand so far, that everyone heard a bone-chilling pop. The agent screamed out in pain, as Karen Hayes turned her head quickly to avoid witnessing Jack's interrogation methods.

"Who called in the tip?" Jack asked, raising his voice.

"It was anonymous." The agent barely managed to say.

Jack scoffed. " Anonymous. And I'm sure your people did nothing to find this person?"

The agent glared at Jack.

"I'm going to give you 10 seconds to tell me who called the tip in, or I'm going to break your other thumb."

The agent stayed silent. Jack pushed his left thumb out from the duct tape, and it made the same sound as before. Once again, he cried out in pain.

"You know, I've met a lot of FBI agents." Jack said. "Out of all of them, you're probably the most stupid."

Michelle looked at Jack, then stuck her hand in the agent's back pocket. Jack noticed that she had previously had some sort of severe burn on her hand. She pulled out the agent's wallet.

"John David Mason." Michelle said. "Not the son of George Mason?"

The agent looked at Michelle with a convincing look.

"Your father was a great man." Michelle said. "He taught me a lot; and I know that he'd want you to help us."

"How did you know my father?" Mason asked.

"I worked for him, at CTU." Michelle said. "He was my boss."

"Hmmf." Mason scoffed.

"Are these your kids?" Michelle asked, taking out a picture from his wallet.

The picture showed two small children, a boy and a girl, smiling up at the camera in a pile of leaves.

"Yeah, those are my kids, George and Emily." Mason said, looking down.

"They're cute kids." Michelle said. "I was going to have a son, you know. I remember being so excited, my husband, ecstatic. I remember, at my private security company, the people working for me asking if I was really pregnant. Apparently, they had never seen a pregnant woman who didn't show at five months. I remember laughing at this until I walked out to my car that day, years ago. I don't remember the incident exactly, but I do remember waking up about three months later. I remember being in pain, but I also remember not being pregnant."

Mason looked down. "I'm sorry, I really am. But kidnapping me is not going to change things."

"No, it's not." Michelle said. "But it may help to find out who's trying to kill us. Who's trying to frame us. Let me ask you something. If it was your son, wouldn't you want to know? We were going to name him Anthony, after my husband. Anthony's dead, and I want to know why."

Mason sighed. "The tip was anonymous, but my team did check up on it. We don't know who sent the tip directly, but it came in from a house in Los Angeles that belongs to a woman who we believe goes by the name Mandy."

Michelle exchanged glances with Jack.

"Oh my God." Jack said, as the car headed off into the city.

_Those are the first few chapters; I hope you are enjoying this story. As it turns out, I don't have many reviews/followers and for me to continue, I'm going to need some reviews/followers, so I know I'm not wasting my time. Sorry to be harsh, but if no one is reading/following the story, I am going to move on to other projects._


	5. Chapter 5

_**The following takes place between 8am and 9am **_

Jack pulled out his cell phone.

"O'Brien." Chloe said.

"Chloe it's me. I need you to-…"

"Jack, I told you not to call me-…"

"Chloe you know I wouldn't have if it wasn't necessary-…" Jack said, as he was cut off.

"Jack heard muffling behind the phone, before he heard a chilling voice.

"Jack, we've taken Chloe O'Brien into custody. Do us all a favor and turn yourself in."

"Alberta?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, that's right."

"Alberta, Chloe had nothing to do with this."

"She was aiding and embedding a fugitive, she's going to prison. You are too, unless you turn yourself in right now."

"You know I can't do that, there are people after me."

"Yes, I know, Jack, we're after you." Alberta said, obviously annoyed.

"No, Alberta, you don't understand-.."

"I understand that you killed a man named Tin about four hours ago and you've been resisting arrest for that crime and numerous others that you've committed over the last-…"

"I didn't kill Tin! He was my friend. I'm being set up-.." Jack began to say.

"If that's true then come in so we can sort this out, Jack." Alberta said with authority.

"Yeah so we can have a nice little chat and work things out. When all is said and done I'll be on my merry way, huh?" Jack said sarcastically.

"Either way, Jack, you're coming in. And whether or not we do it the easy way or the hard way is completely up to you. You might want to inform your friend, Ms. Dessler, that we have a BOLO out for her too and she should turn herself in now."

Jack's heart skipped a beat. "I'm sorry, who?" Jack asked.

"You know who, Jack. Let's stop playing games. You tell Michelle Dessler to turn herself in or she'll be charged with murder, treason, and aiding a fugitive when she's-…"

"You're the one playing games, Alberta. Michelle's dead." Jack said, trying to sound convincing.

Michelle turned her head to look at Jack when she heard the mention of her name.

"We had her grave exhumed, Jack. I don't need to tell you that there was no DNA match. You two have had contact today, and it would be in both of your best interests if-…"

Jack hung up the phone.

"Could they have traced the call?" Jack asked, looking down.

"No, we used a scrambler and signal-blocker." Michelle said calmly.

"Chloe's no longer in play. They know you're alive, Michelle." Jack said, looking at Michelle.

"I gathered that from your call." Michelle said.

"If they know she's involved," John stated, "Then you can assume they know about you two."

Karen and Aaron exchanged glances.

"You don't have to worry about that." Karen said.

"Look, I don't care what you're doing, I don't care who you are, just let me go." John said.

"Maybe we should-…" Michelle began.

"No. He's seen us, he's seen them." Jack began. "We can't risk it."

Michelle nodded her head.

"So, what are you going to do, kill me?" John asked.

"No. Just be quiet." Jack said.

"Can I at least have some Tylenol for my thumbs?" John asked sarcastically.

Jack looked at John. "Your thumbs aren't broken, just dislocated. I can fix them if you want."

"Will it hurt?" John asked.

"Yes." Jack answered honestly.

John turned his back towards Jack, so Jack could relocate his thumbs. Michelle and Karen turned away as John screeched out in pain.

"There you go, all better." Jack said.

"Thanks." John said sarcastically.

Aaron turned on a side street that showed woods about 1000 yards in front of them. He entered a gravel road until they were deep in the woods. Aaron bumped over the road for about three miles and then parked the car behind some tall shrubs.

"Where are we going?" John asked.

"Shut up." Jack said as he stuffed a gag in John's mouth.

"If you make noise, I will knock you out. Do you understand?" Jack said.

John nodded his head, and Jack stepped out of the van. Aaron, Karen, and Michelle stood a few feet away from the van. Jack made his way over to them.

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"We have a safehouse about six miles up. It's buried pretty deeply within the forest." Aaron said.

"Alright, let's go." Jack said.

"We're going to have to walk." Karen said.

"Okay." Jack said.

"Jack, there's one more thing. Tony Almeida is being transferred to the United Nations to testify in 20 minutes." Karen said.

Michelle looked down with the mention of her husband's name. "I don't understand where you're going with this." Jack said.

"We're going to break him out." Aaron said.

Jack looked at Aaron like he had five heads. "Aaron, even if I wanted to break Tony out, he's going to have armed transport all around him. How do you expect to break through without getting killed or killing innocent people?"

"We're not killing anyone, Jack. In about 17 minutes, the transport will cut through the dirt path road over that stream over there. You'll blow out the tires with this." Aaron said, handing Jack a sniper rifle. "The transport will stop. That's when we'll throw these down to the transport." Aaron said, holding two dark green grenades up.

"What are these?" Jack asked.

"Chloroform grenades. Everyone within a 100 yard radius will fall unconscious for, oh, about, 30 minutes." Aaron said.

"Including us?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"No, you'll be wearing these." Michelle said, handing Jack two gas masks.

"You're not coming?"

"We're going to the safe house. We'll bring Mason with us." Karen said.

"What about Tony? He'll be unconscious too." Jack said.

"We'll have to carry him part of the way." Aaron said. "But we need to get going if we're going to intercept them."

Jack nodded. "Alright, let's go."

"Jack!" Michelle called.

Jack turned around to look her in the eye.

"Be careful… and-and…" Michelle said, getting emotional.

"We'll do our best to keep Tony safe." Jack said sincerely.

"Torch the van after you get Mason out." Aaron called back.

Michelle nodded and Jack and Aaron started jogging towards the creek uphill. When they got uphill, Aaron pulled Jack's arm back.

"You should set up here. I'm going to go behind those shrubs over there with the CG's." Aaron said.

Jack nodded. He stayed still for about four minutes until he heard the sound of car's approaching. Jack spoke into his microphone on his jacket.

"You hear that, Aaron?" Jack said.

"The car's approaching on schedule." Jack heard Aaron said, into his ear piece.

Jack saw three cars approach. He assumed Tony would be in the middle car. Jack cocked his rifle and took aim at the back-left tire and took the shot. The tires screeched as they came to a hault, and Jack saw men coming out of the last two vans with assault weapons. Jack put his gas mask on as he noticed green gas engulfing the clearing the cars were on. One by one, guards began to drop. Jack dropped his rifle and drew his handgun as he approached with caution.

Every guard was unconscious as Jack approached the cars. He grabbed the keys from the guard that had fallen asleep in the front of the middle van. He unlocked the back door to see Tony with his head lolled off to the side. Jack held his weapon up as he took a step into the van. He took Tony's pulse, just to make sure he was okay, and unlocked his chains. Aaron came running up to the van.

"We need to go, now. One of them sent for help before they were knocked out."

"Okay. How far?" Jack asked.

"About eight miles, North." Aaron said.

Jack nodded as he threw Tony over his shoulder. Jack and Aaron jogged uphill for about five minutes before Jack heard sirens. They quickened their pace, trying to stay low in the shrubs and bushes. Tony began to cough, so Jack looked around and placed Tony on the ground. Tony slowly opened his eyes, but they quickly widened with the sight of Jack.

"Son of a bitch!" Tony yelled, trying to punch Jack.

Aaron grabbed Tony's arms while Jack put his hand over Tony's mouth.

"Listen, Tony, we are in a very compromised position here. We just broke you out of transport and we're going to take you to see Michelle-…" Jack began.

"What?!" Tony said in disbelief.

"Michelle, Tony, we're going to bring you to her." Jack said, becoming confused.

"Michelle's dead." Tony said.

"No, what? Karen Hayes told you she was alive." Jack said.

"Are you telling me that my wife is alive, Jack?" Tony asked, becoming much more clearer.

"Yes, Tony. Karen Hayes told you this months ago. She came to see you in prison." Jack said, starting to sense a problem.

Tony sat up. "Karen Hayes never visited me in prison, Jack!"

Jack exchanged looks with Aaron. "Comon!" Jack said, grabbing Tony's shirt and running towards the bay in which they had last seen Karen and Michelle. Aaron looked behind him and sprinted towards Jack and Tony as they took off into the brush.

#####

8:58 am

Michelle checked her PDA as John walked in front of her.

"If we take a left in 30 meters, we should cut a mile off our trip to-…" Michelle said, as she was cutoff.

Michelle heard two suppressed bullet shoots zoom past her and hit John in the back. He fell to the ground. Michelle shot around to see Karen pointing the gun at her.

"Take out your earpiece and microphone." Karen ordered.

"Karen! Why are you-…"

"NOW!" Karen yelled, shooting Michelle in the arm.

Michelle screamed out in pain, as she fell to the ground. Karen stood over her and took her PDA, her gun, and her communication devices. Two men showed up behind Karen to pick Michelle off the ground.

"I trusted you!" Michelle screamed.

"Yeah, well, be careful who you trust." Karen said.

"Karen! Karen! Why are you doing this!?" Michelle yelled as she was thrown into the back of a van.

Karen stood at the back of the van, holding both sides of the doors.

"My name isn't Karen." Karen said in a thick, heavy accent. She slammed the doors shut and everything went dark.

_**Please tell me what you think so far! Leave your comments and reviews!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**The following takes place between 9am and 10am **_

Jack, Tony, and Aaron continued to sprint through the woods. The police would be sweeping the area with helicopters and dogs soon.

"Jack! Jack! Hold up, Jack!" Tony yelled at Jack, as he came to a complete stop.

"Tony, come on, we need to keep moving!" Jack said, panting.

"No! No, no, no! I'm not going anywhere until you explain to me what's going on!"

"Tony, please, we don't have much time!" Jack pleaded.

"Just tell me what's going on. Please, Jack." Tony begged.

Jack's gaze was directed towards some bushes nearby. No one was coming, not yet anyway.

"I just found out today that Michelle was alive. She said Wilson's men had her for several months after everyone thought she was murdered. She helped me escape. Aaron and I came to break you out of transport and she went with Karen Hayes to the safehouse. Aaron, Karen, and Michelle have been working together for several months, uncovering a major attack that's supposed to take place today. Wilson's behind it, he was pardoned by the-…" Jack said as he was cut-off.

"WHOA, what?! They released him?" Tony yelled.

"Mr. Almeida, please," Aaron said. "Wilson had information on the attack; President Brown didn't know he was the one behind it."

"Karen told Michelle that she visited you in prison-.." Jack said.

"She never visited me in prison, Jack." Tony whispered.

"Tony, Tony, I'm sorry I must have misjudged the-…"

"Misjudged? Yeah, I would say you made a major misjudgment, Jack. First, you tell me my wife is alive, and then you tell me she's with someone right now who wants her dead!" Tony said, raising his voice.

"Tony, calm down. She could have killed Michelle any time; I doubt that's what is going to happen." Jack said.

"But you don't know, do you Jack?!" Tony yelled.

"Tony, listen to me very carefully. We just broke you out of escort; we are going to be caught if we stand around here. We will find Michelle, but not if we stand around waiting to be arrested." Jack said

Tony nodded his head. "Did Karen know where the safehouse was?" Jack asked Aaron.

"No, not the exact location. She's never been there but she knows the general area." Aaron said.

"Alright, we don't have a choice, let's go there. Is it well hidden?" Jack asked.

"Yes, it's underground. She won't find it, even with Michelle's PDA. Michelle and I are the only ones who know exactly where it is."

"Alright, let's go. Try to walk through the creek when possible. It will provide cover and mask our scent from the search dogs." Jack said.

Tony and Aaron nodded, and followed Jack into the forest.

#####

9:14 am

Michelle thumped around in the back of the van. Wherever they were going, it was a bumpy ride. It was too dark to see anything, but Michelle could tell that her arm had stopped bleeding. That didn't mean it didn't hurt though, it did, like hell. The van came to a stop, and she could hear people approaching the back of the van.

"Get out." A man with a thick accent said, holding a gun.

Michelle stayed in the corner of the back of the van, and did not move. The man came and grabbed her wounded arm, which caused her to squeal in pain. Two men came and grabbed her, putting a blindfold over her eyes and gagging her mouth. They walked for about ten minutes until she heard a door open. The men forced her in a chair, taking her blindfold off and pointing a gun in her face.

"Take off your sweatshirt." The man in the heavy accent said.

"No." Michelle said softly, but firmly.

"Do it now, we don't have all day. We need to patch your arm up. You're no use to us dead.

"Michelle took the sweatshirt off, to reveal a white tank top covered in blood from her arm. Her arm was a bloody mess.

The man with the accent came towards her with a cloth and a bowl of water.

"Uh-…" Michelle said, holding her good arm up. "Why don't you let me do it?"

The man nodded and handed her the cloth. The water stung, but once she started clearing the dried blood, she could tell that the wound was a through and through. No permanent damage…if she received medical treatment. She cleared the rest of the blood away, and he handed her a white gauze bandage. She wrapped her arm up, and though it felt a little better, it still hurt like hell.

"Wilson will be in to talk with you soon." The man with the accent said as he shut the door behind him.

#####

9:34 am

Jack sprinted up to the creek, looking back as he heard a helicopter.

"How much further?" Jack asked.

"About three miles." Aaron said.

Jack heard a groaning noise and drew his weapon to see John Mason standing behind him, clutching his back.

"I thought you were dead. They let you go?" Jack asked, lowering his weapon.

"No exactly. Karen shot me twice in the back. It hit my vest." John answered.

"What about Michelle?" Tony asked, with concern.

"They shot her and took her."

"Oh-my-…" Tony said, placing his hands on his head. "They shot her!?"

"She's alive, they wanted her alive." John said, panting.

"Why did you come back here?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"I want to help. I saw the van and the plates, I can help you. And by the way, the woman who you thought was this Karen woman, it wasn't really her." John asked.

Jack processed the information. "Alright, come on. Are you hurt?"

"Not badly, my vest blocked the bullets." John said.

"He's fine, Jack, my wife's the one that's hurt!" Tony yelled.

"Tony, calm down. They took Michelle for a reason and it wasn't to kill her. We'll find her." Jack said.

"We better get moving." Aaron said, motioning forward.

The four men took cover by the creek for about three miles until they came to a huge waterfall-like structure. Aaron motioned for them to walk through the rocks and water and under the waterfall, where a cave lay. Soaking wet, they followed Aaron into the cave, where he moved a rock to reveal an aluminum padlock door with numbers. He placed the numbers in, and the door opened, revealing computers, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The four of them walked in and shut the door.

"This is really something." John said, looking around.

"How'd you get a place like this?" Jack asked, taking the place in.

"President Palmer used it as a safehouse. I was the only other person who knew about it besides Mike Novak. Wayne Palmer, or the other President Palmer didn't even know about it. David gave it to me when he retired." Aaron said.

"So no one will know we're here?" Tony asked, unconvinced.

"This safehouse exists on no map. Any phone signals or trackers are blocked from the aluminum walls. If you don't know this is here, you won't find it." Aaron said.

"Alright, this is exactly what we need," Jack said. "Tony, why don't you go clean up and get into some clean clothes. You don't exactly blend in with an orange jumpsuit."

Tony nodded, and headed towards the bathroom. "You know," he said, turning his head to look at Jack. "I believed my wife was dead for the last seven years, Jack. Don't make me lose her again."

"We're going to do everything we can to help her, Tony."

Tony nodded and closed the door. Once the door was shut, Jack put his hand to John's throat.

"Now, why did you really come back? And please don't feed me that bullshit that you want to help. No one will find you here, so you better talk now." Jack said, in a chilling voice.

"It's true," John said, gasping for air. "I saw the plates and the van, I can help! Why else would I come back?"

"Gee, I don't know." Jack said sarcastically. "Maybe to lead your buddies from the FBI here to find us?"

"No, I didn't, I swear." John said, gasping for breath.

"We'll see." Jack said, releasing John.

John gasped for air as Jack pulled him over and pushed him into a seat.

"What are you doing?" John asked.

"Look, I don't know why you're here, and if you're truly here to _help,_ then I am sorry; but I can't take the risk that you're here for other reasons." Jack said, duct taping John to the seat.

"So, what? You're just going to leave me here?" John asked in disbelief.

"We're not going anywhere. I can't risk you summoning your FBI friends and my old CTU colleagues here. Sorry in advance if I'm mistaken." Jack said.

"This is unbelievable." John muttered.

"Jack, can I talk to you in the other room for a minute?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah." Jack said walking over to Aaron. "What's up?"

"We can't let him go while this is going on. He knows where we are and if he sends someone over here, then we'll all be arrested and we won't be able to get Michelle back." Aaron said.

"Aaron, I honestly don't believe this kid came here for that reason, but I agree, it's too risky. We'll leave him here until we secure Michelle and we can safely move to another safehouse."

"What's going on?" Tony asked.

"Nothing." Jack said.

"Do you have any leads on Michelle?

"Not yet, Tony." Jack said.

"Why's he tied up?" Tony asked.

"Just taking precautions." Aaron said.

#####

9:52am

Alberta Green checked her watch and walked out of the bullpen of CTU NY. She was running out of time, and Brad Hammond from Division had been expecting results hours ago.

"Carrie!" Alberta yelled to Carrie Turner.

"Yes, Miss Green?" Carrie responded in a kiss-ass tone.

"Any new leads on Bauer?"

"Not yet, but I did find something rather interesting. Satellite feeds sent this in about five minutes ago. It looks like Michelle Dessler was taken hostage." Carrie said.

Alberta looked at the satellites. "Do we know where she was taken?"

"No, the van went out of range, but there's an old abandoned shack about two five miles from where she was taken. They might be holding her there." Carrie suggested.

"Send a field team out there now. Tell them to approach with caution. Whoever took her, is probably working with the terrorists attacking us today." Alberta said.

"What's the prerogative?" Carrie asked.

"I want the captors. If they get Dessler too, fine, but the captors are the most important right now. Send the memo." Alberta said, walking away.

#####

9:57 am

Michelle heard the door creak open. She opened her eyes to see a tall, balding man approach her. It was Alan Wilson.

"Hello, Michelle. Long time, no see." Wilson said, playing with a piece of her curly hair.

Michelle glared back at Wilson, but said nothing.

"It's funny, your husband tried to kill me a few years ago. He failed, obviously. I'm sure he'll try to find you again, but I don't think he will."

"If you're going to kill me, then kill me." Michelle said bravely.

"I'm not going to kill you, Michelle. Not yet, anyway. I have a little job for you to do, and you're going to do it. Otherwise, the citizens of New York City will be in for a very big surprise." Wilson said.

Michelle glared at Wilson. Whatever he was planning, it was big. Michelle assumed the bombs in the subways were going to reveal a larger plot bigger than she could imagine. She could only hope that Jack had freed Tony and they could track down Wilson before it was too late.


	7. Chapter 7

_**The following takes place between 10am and 11am **_

Jack, Aaron, and Tony all stood in the kitchen talking, while John sat tied up near the living room area.

"Jack, even if we know where to look, how are we ever going to get out of here?" Tony asked, anxiety obviously present in his voice.

"Tony, relax. The FBI and police aren't going to be looking here all day. They're going to assume we had a vehicle or some other kind of transport and got out of here." Jack said, trying to reassure Tony.

Tony put his hands on his head and started walking around frantically. "They'll still have men here, Jack! Even if we find Michelle-…"

"We will find Michelle, Tony, and we will get her back. Once we have some information and the area clears a little, we can leave." Jack said.

"No, no, that's not going to work. It'll be too late. He's going to kill Michelle, and-…" Tony began to say.

"Tony, Wilson took Michelle for a reason. He could have killed her at any time, but he didn't. I'm assuming he wants to use her for something, otherwise he would have just killed her."

"He shot her! He shot Michelle! How do we know she wasn't badly hurt? Huh, Jack? How do we know? I spent the last seven years of my life, thinking she was dead, and then you come along and tell me she's alive, but kidnapped! How can you expect me to act calmly? Huh, Jack?!" Tony yelled, flailing his arms.

"Tony, I understand what you're going through, I do. But if you start freaking out on me, we won't get results, and we won't find Michelle. Our best bet is to see what Mason knows, use whatever resources we can find, and go from there." Jack said, trying to calm Tony down.

Tony nodded his head, his hands still on top of them. "Yeah."

"Good, now if you remember any CTU protocols, you should try and hack into their system so we can use their satellites." Jack said.

Tony shook his head. "They'll know someone's hacking in."

"Not if you go in through a closed circuit. I scanned the frequencies; no one's using N8 or N9. Try one of those." Jack said.

Tony nodded his head and started hacking into CTU's mainframe. Jack walked over to John who was still tied up.

"I'm going to need that license plate number." Jack said bluntly.

"It was a Connecticut plate that read the word TANGO on it. That was it." John said.

Jack gave John a weird look. "_Tango_?"

"That's what it said. Capital T-A-N-G-O. Tango." John replied.

"Tony." Jack called from the living room.

"_Yeah_?" Tony replied.

"I need you to run some plates for me. It has a Connecticut license plate with the word _Tango_ on it, all capital letters."

Jack looked at John one last time and went into the kitchen where Aaron and Tony were.

"Anything?" Jack asked.

"It's still running but it doesn't look like we're going to get anything." Tony said in a depressed tone.

"Try military vehicles." Aaron suggested.

Tony looked at Aaron and widened his search to military. Surprisingly, one match came up. Jack looked at the screen, and carried the laptop into the living room where John was tied up.

"Is this the van?" Jack asked John, as he held up the computer screen.

John nodded his head. "Yeah."

Jack walked back into the kitchen. He was confused, how did Wilson's men have access to a military-owned vehicle? Better yet, how did they get it without setting off any red flags?

#####

10:17am

Wilson sat uncomfortably close to Michelle. He said nothing, but looked into her eyes. He looked her up and down, and took her hand and traced the scars.

"It's amazing, how one day can change your life so drastically." Wilson said.

Michelle stared at Wilson, but said nothing.

"Hmmf." Wilson scoffed. "You're probably wondering why I took you, why I made Anya, or, as you may know her, Karen, trick you. You're probably wondering-…"

"Where is Karen? The _real_ Karen?" Michelle said, cutting Wilson off.

"She's dead." Wilson said, smiling. "Yes, it was a horrible shame, but, alas, it is-…"

"She can't be dead. She has a high level job in Washington D.C. People would have noticed her absence." Michelle said, once again cutting Wilson off.

Wilson slapped Michelle across the face. "Please, don't interrupt me!"

Michelle slowly turned her head back to face Wilson. Her lip was bleeding heavily.

"As I was saying, she's dead. Anya is who you've been interacting with this whole time. You'll be surprised what a little resemblance and plastic surgery will do. And, of course, Anya, will do anything for money."

"Why are you doing this? Why can't you just let me live my life?" Michelle asked.

Wilson scoffed. "Well, actually, I probably wouldn't have come after you if your stupid husband didn't kill my brother."

Michelle looked at Wilson with a confused look on her face.

"Yes, Michelle, your husband killed my brother. I don't even know if he knew he was my brother at the time, but nevertheless, he suffocated him. He took his life away, because of _you_."

"Your brother?" Michelle asked, still very confused.

"That's right. Larry was my brother, well my half-brother anyway, we shared the same mother." Wilson said, as though it were obvious.

It was starting to sink in. How Larry Moss was involved, why Wilson had never killed him like he killed so many of his accomplices. It was obvious now why Tony really killed Larry Moss. Michelle had some bad experiences with Larry Moss after the car bomb, but she never knew he was the half-brother of Alan Wilson.

"Tony didn't know-…" Michelle began to say.

Wilson grabbed Michelle's face with his hand and squeezed it. "Now you listen to me very carefully. You are going to do exactly as I say or I will kill you, and your husband."

"Kill me, then." Michelle said, courageously.

"Oh I will, but not just yet. You will _wish_ you were dead if you don't do exactly as I say."

#####

10:27am

The CTU field team showed up at the shack. No one was outside, and there were no vehicles or people to be seen. They approached with caution as they kicked the door in.

"Federal agents! Come out with your hands above your heads!" Agent Dorsey yelled.

No one came out. Agent Dorsey motioned for the rest of his team to come in, but as soon as he walked past the small metal box, he knew he had tripped it. It was too late; the whole shack went up in flames, with the CTU field agents inside.

#####

10:33am

"Jack, I think I've got something!" Tony yelled from the kitchen.

Jack walked into the kitchen to see Tony pointing to the computer screen.

"Here's the satellite footage where it shows them taking Michelle." Tony said.

The satellite footage showed Mason being shot, and Michelle being shot in the arm by Karen. Tony cringed when he saw his wife fall to the ground.

"Alright, did you get anything else?" Jack asked, trying to distract Tony.

"Well that's just it, I mean I checked all of the other satellites, and they never picked up any main roads or left the woods from what I can see. They're still somewhere in the woods, but I couldn't get their location on satellite." Tony said.

"Alright, good, so we know they're still in the woods." Jack said.

"I can help you find them." John yelled from the living room.

Jack furrowed his eyebrows and walked into the living room with Tony.

"How?" Jack asked.

"If they're still in the woods, you can do a perimeter search using infrared. It will trap body heat and can tell you where they are." John replied.

"It will also tell us where every police officer and FBI agent is. We won't be able to distinguish one from the other." Tony said in an annoyed tone.

"Not if you can pinpoint the frequency they're using. If you can pinpoint what signal they're using, the only people left will be Michelle and Wilson's men." John explained.

Jack exchanged looks with Tony. "Do you really think you can do this?" Jack asked.

"Yes, I can. Let me help." John said.

Jack exchanged looks with Tony again, and they both began to untie John.

#####

10:41am

Carrie Turner's eyes widened as she looked at her computer screen. She grabbed the telephone and dialed Alberta Green's number.

"CTU, Green." Alberta answered.

"Ms. Green, you better come down here, the field team you just sent to retrieve Alan Wilson, it's been taken out." Carrie said.

#####

10:45am

Michelle sat still in the shed with Wilson. He looked murderous, so she decided to stay silent so she wouldn't give him a reason to get angry. Just as Michelle Wilson was staring Michelle down, his cell phone rang.

"Yeah. What? Ugh, alright, yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Tell Mandy I'll be right there." Wilson said into the phone.

Michelle's heart stopped when she heard the name Mandy. She was hoping Wilson wouldn't bring her back there.

"I need to go for a little bit," Wilson said. "If you try to escape, my men have been ordered to cut your hand off."

Michelle shuddered, but kept her face still as Wilson walked out of the shed. She planned to make a run for it as soon as the coast was clear.

#####

10:50am

Aaron walked into the bedroom of the safehouse and moved a picture frame off the wall. A safe lay behind the former picture, and Aaron punched the code in to reveal the safe contents. Jack stood behind Aaron and went through the safe. There was at least $100,000 there with guns, ammo, and different field tools they would need.

"You, know," Jack began. "They'll probably know you helped us. You'll be on the run, too."

"Jack, I took this job to serve my country. If I have to break the rules to serve my country, then so be it." Aaron replied.

Jack looked down at the floor and smiled. He patted Aaron on the shoulder as he geared up. Tony was loading a Glock.

"You ready?" Jack asked Tony.

Tony looked at the ground and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Alright, let's go." Jack said.

"What about him?" Tony asked, nodding towards John.

"He's going to stay here with Aaron until we get back." Jack said.

Tony nodded and put his gun into his holster. Jack and Tony looked at the safehouse as they proceeded out of the exit. Tony hoped they weren't too late, and took a deep breath. The next few hours would be crucial for all of them.


	8. Chapter 8

_**The Following Takes Place Between 11am and 12pm **_

Jack held his Glock in front of himself as he proceeded towards the creek bed. Tony stray closely behind him, checking the area before taking each step.

"You know, Jack, you never-…" Tony began to say.

Jack turned around and furrowed his eyebrows. "I never…what?" he asked.

"You never told me what she looked like." Tony said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Jack asked, confused.

Tony nodded his head. "You know, Michelle."

Jack looked down at the ground. "Hmm. She looked beautiful, Tony." Jack said, sincerely.

"Right," Tony said, staring at the ground. "I just-I just hope I have the chance to see her again."

"You will; you will, Tony. But, we really have to get going." Jack said, patting Tony on the shoulder.

Tony nodded his head and followed Jack deeper into the forest. It wasn't that hot, but it was very humid and the humidity didn't help the situation. Jack knelt next to some shrubs along the creek and pulled out his PDA.

"As far as I can tell, the coast is clear. There aren't any state or federal law enforcement in the area." Jack said.

"How about Wilson or his men?" Tony asked.

"Hold on, I have to change the frequency." Jack said, fiddling with his PDA.

Jack nodded his head. "Yeah, about two miles up it shows two men roaming, or women, whatever. I assume they're guarding their perimeter."

Tony nodded and took the lead, Jack following this time. They stayed near the creek bed in case the agencies used dog-sniffers after them.

#####

11:14am

Michelle felt dizzy; her arm was beginning to throb, and the humidity was making her feel drowsy. If her arm wasn't in so much pain she would have been able to maneuver out of the ropes holding her down. Instead of trying to pull them up, she bent over and started ripping the ropes apart with her teeth. When they started to come loose, she bit her lip to keep from screaming out in pain, and pulled the ropes up so she could wriggle her wrists out. She felt a hot surge in her arm, probably a sign that her wound had started bleeding again.

Michelle pulled the last of the remaining ropes off and tiptoed to the door. She pressed her ear against the door, hearing faint voices. Using the cracks in the wood as visual, Michelle peeked out and saw two armed guards with their backs facing her about 15 feet from the door. Michelle knew if she whipped the door open and ran out she would be caught, so she pulled the door back ever so slightly to creep along the shed. The guards failed to notice Michelle as she quickly darted to the back of the shed and disappeared into the woods.

#####

11:28 pm

Carrie Turner jogged up to Alberta Green's office to update her on the Bauer situation.

"Ms. Green?" Carrie said, with a light knock to the door.

"Yes, Carrie, come in. I was just talking to our other field teams; apparently there were no survivors at the shed area." Alberta said, rubbing her forehead.

"I'm sorry," Carrie said insincerely. "Ms. Green, we have a problem."

"Of course we do; what now?" Alberta asked.

"Someone used our mainframe to hack into satellite feeds in the forest our team was killed. The problem is, we can't trace the origin." Carrie said.

"All right," Alberta said. "What is it you think I can do?"

"Chloe O'Brien worked on these systems for years; she's the best at what she does. I believe she can find where the hacker is imposing from." Carrie said.

"And why would she help us?" Alberta asked, still rubbing her head.

"Because she's facing a 20 year prison sentence for helping Bauer." Carrie said.

"She'll never see 20 years inside of a cell. Besides, she's loyal to Bauer; we can't afford to waste our time." Alberta said.

"Maybe she won't see 20 years, but if you took it off the table, you might get her attention. She has a five-year old son; I'm sure she cares about his well-being more than Bauer's." Carrie said.

"You want me to give her immunity?" Alberta asked.

"It's not a matter of what I want, Mam, it's a matter of what needs to be done. Chloe O'Brien's the only one who can find Bauer at this point; we have no other leads." Carrie said.

#####

11:33pm

Michelle ran through the woods ignoring the pounding in her head and arm. If Wilson's men didn't know she was gone, it was only a matter of time now. Not only did she not know where she was, but if she didn't receive medical attention for her arm soon, she wouldn't make it. Just as she stopped to catch her breath, she heard automatic gunfire near her feet.

"Stop right there!" Wilson's men screamed simultaneously.

Michelle cursed at herself and stopped in her tracks. She turned around, out of breath and raised her arms above her head. Wilson's men walked down the slope towards her; pointing their weapons at her head. Just as Michelle thought she was doomed, both of Wilson's men dropped to the ground.

Michelle quickly turned around to see Jack and Tony standing next to each other, both their weapons drawn. Though Michelle was feeling dizzy, she looked at Tony for the first time in seven years.

"To-Tony?" Michelle squeaked.

Tony said nothing and walked towards Michelle. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the ground, trying to hold back his tears. Michelle pulled back in pain when he accidently touched her arm.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry." Tony said, holding Michelle.

Tears were streaming down Michelle's face. She couldn't think of words to say that would be fitting at the time. Tony took Michelle's face and kissed her; Jack looked away to give them privacy. When Tony was done, he looked at her arm.

"Oh, God," Tony said.

"It's alright," Michelle said. "It looks worse than it is."

"Michelle, I haven't seen you for-…" Tony started to say, as he got choked up.

"I know, I-I've missed you so much." Michelle said, tears still streaming down her face.

"Guys, I'm really sorry to have to break this up, but we need to get out of here." Jack said, looking around nervously.

Michelle nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Let me look at that real quick." Tony said, examining Michelle's arm.

"I'm alright, really." Michelle said.

"Michelle, as soon as we get back to the safe house, we'll fix it up." Jack said.

Michelle nodded, and took Tony's hand. Together, they followed Jack up the creek bed and back to the safe house. Tony didn't know how he felt; all those years of pain and agony he had felt were now numb. It wasn't as if it hadn't happened, but Tony felt strange to be holding his wife's hand again.

#####

11:42pm

Alberta Green scanned her CTU ID into the holding scanner. Chloe O'Brien sat at the desk, drumming her fingers along the table.

"This is a_ serious_ violation to my Miranda rights." Chloe said sarcastically.

"You think National Security is less important than your personal rights?" Alberta asked.

"It doesn't matter what I think," Chloe said. "I didn't right the Constitution; and neither did you."

Alberta ignored Chloe's statement and sat down across from her. "I've come to offer you a deal."

Chloe stared blankly at Alberta. "I'll drop the charges, if you help me find Jack Bauer."

"What makes you think_ I_ know where he is?" Chloe asked.

"We need you to find out who hacked these satellite photos." Alberta said, pushing a file towards Chloe.

"Oh let me see, you need me, so now we're friends?" Chloe said sarcastically.

"This is not a joke, Ms. O'Brien. I'm going to let you think about this for a few minutes. When I come back, you better have an answer for me. Unless you want to be spending your son's childhood years behind a cell, I suggest you take the deal." Alberta said.

#####

11:57pm

Jack, Tony, and Michelle crawled along the creek path and ended up to the entrance of the safe-house. Once they entered the cave, they heard helicopters whirring above. Michelle looked up anxiously.

"Don't worry," Tony said. "They don't know we're here."

Michelle offered her husband a small smile and squeezed his hand with her good arm. They had been careful getting back to the safe-house, but Michelle still worried about what Wilson was planning. Once he figured out that Michelle was missing, he would put his plan to nuke the subway systems into effect immediately. Jack, Tony, and Michelle could only hope that they would get to him before it was too late.

_Thank you for reading, sorry it took so long to post a new chapter. As always, comments and feedback are always appreciated!_


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